Before we moved from Casper, we learned that on August 21st, 2017 there was going to be a total solar eclipse and Casper was right in the line of totality. The city at that point was already really stressed about how they were going to accommodate the massive influx of population. Casper has only about 60,000 people, and it was estimated that during the eclipse that number would rise to 150-200,000. Hotels started booking out then.
And then we moved. As the time drew near, it didn't even occur to me to drive up to Wyoming or anywhere that fell in the line of totality. Pierscen was in school, I was massively pregnant, Ryan had work. Etc. I wondered how the schools would handle it and if the kids would get a chance to watch it. The answer was yes and no. If your child had the special ISO glasses (or whatever they were called) they would be permitted to watch it outside. Albuquerque was supposed to have about a 75% eclipse. If the kids didn't have them, then they would watch it inside on the news. I didn't get Pierscen glasses. Didn't even think about, sadly. I started feeling really guilty as I was hearing about many of my friends making the drive to see it. I started kicking myself for not going to Casper. Yes, it would have been a horrible drive. But we would have had a place to stay. Probably lots of options, actually. And then the eclipse news started (while I was having our carpet cleaned) and as I was trying to watch it on the computer/watching updates from our friends elsewhere, major mommy guilt settled in. I felt like a failure. Everyone who witnessed it said that it was the most amazing/spiritual/inspiring/breathtaking/you-name-the-adjective thing they had ever witnessed. My only consolation was the fact that I didn't buy the glasses. Because this was our view:
Of course not long after our window of viewing the eclipse had passed, the sky miraculously cleared up. Ha! I did learn that in the next 30 years there were actually be a few more that cross the US, so my "once in a life time" opportunity isn't completely lost. And though yes, I was genuinely upset with myself for not making it happen, I just had to remind myself that though wondrous and amazing, and probably totally worth it, witnessing the eclipse does not/will not change what matters most in life.
That afternoon, I stood at the bus stop with my camera ready. Why? Because this is my favorite time of day. Pierscen, in his incredible 5-year-old abounding love, rockets off the bus every day yelling, "MOM!" and barrels into my arms. It brings tears to my eyes almost every time. This is what matters most. We have a life time together to learn, explore, and have adventures together. And yes, I still really want to witness an eclipse in totality some day. But if it doesn't happen, I will still have a life time of wonderful memories.
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